The Moher (Mo-her) the Marrier

 

Today was a full day! We slept solidly for 11 hours and got up still feelin like we could sleep longer but determined to start the day. We had Irish breakfast tea, which we decided was very similar to orange pekoe but with a slight kick to the pants (it got a little over steeped mind you). We began our trek to Limerick. Above is a picture of a castle in Limerick where we stopped to eat lunch and walked around for a few hours. It was a cool little place they had a festival going on we think a food festival of some kind with carnival rides and such. FUN FACT! A driver talked to us and said that the first time U2 ever called themselves U2 they were playing in limerick at a park. We learn a lot as we go, such as a common catch phrase used here is 'thanks a million'. We hear that all the time. 

 

SOOOOO this whole driving thing has been quite the experience. Today I learned how to drive in a 2 lane highway on a narrow, and very bendy road... This was rather terrifying! Especially when the speed limit is suppose to be 100 KM. NOT A CHANCE!! Luckily for me I was eventually caught in the middle of a group so speed was not an issue. Luke is now calling me a granny driver because I am pulling myself so close to the steering wheel. But it is extremely stressful!! Also the rain here is funny. Driving you go through a 10 second period of torrential down pour immediatelyfollowing no rain at all. Bizarre. Luke is a great navigator though, I have no idea how he can read the stupid map.

 

From Limerick, we drove to our final destination of the day, Doolin. A cute little place that completely shuts down after 6, except for the main pub, Gus O'Conners Pub. Great food and amazing music! Guys just bring there instruments in and sit and play together, it's pretty incredible! But before we got to the pub we checked in to our cute little B&B and decided to take a stroll to the Cliffs of Moher. Little did we know the stroll actually was a hike. Yes, a real steep terrain, loose rocks, heavy breathing, heart pounding type of hike. Needless to say, 16km and 4 hours later we made it to the pub for dinner. The hike was good, and the breathtaking view at the end was both satisfying and amazing. When we got to the top we saw O'Briens tower, which O'Brien built as an observation platform in 1835. We also on our stroll came across sheep. I must say we make them sound much cuter then they really sound. The BAA that comes out of their mouths sounds like a deep voice male burping for 7 seconds. It is rather odd. They are stil cute though!

Luke says: "sheep are kind of like women... They are cute until they talk..." It's a good thing we love each other! :)

                    

BONUS PICTURE! Luke staring at what he thinks to be a phantom 4 quadrocopter... Can you see it? HINT: it's in the sky

 

Also for those of you who have Instagram, follow Luke as he posts the toilets of Europe!! Exciting stuff, I know. And if you don't you should get, it creates a funny conversations for us. Speaking of toilets all of the toilets feel as though you are sitting on a toilet back home with the seat left up, except for the almost falling through part... Gets me everytime, and also very bizarre. We are adjusted to the time change and are now off to dreamland, will the fear of how sore we will be in the morning.

Another thing I had no idea about is that back home our Irish pubs are all named after places in Ireland. Kilkenny, Tipperary, Limerick, Donegal, and I am sure others that I don't remember or just haven't heard of.

And so the adventure continues...

Up Up & Away!

 

Leaving on a jet plane! A big one at that! Today was a good, exciting and long day; filled with mixed emotions and tears (on my behalf that is, not Luke's). Crazy that we are actually gone and starting this next chapter. We had a great send off from Len, Karin, Quinn, Max, my momma (dad in spirit), Jocelyn and Abigail. This time instead of watching Luke go through security I was right along side him, and that in itself was pretty neat. 

So far the plane ride has been fairly decent, currently I am writing this and it is 12:26 am Calgary time. Having said that, neither of us have gotten any sleep, a little attempt but no success. Not to mention there is a little guy not to far behind that screams periodically which makes the already challenging sleep even more difficult. I must say, Air Canada has a pretty sweet set up (sorry Joc!). Of coarse we get the complimentary pillow and blanket, but there are some features that we are rather enjoying. The TV has games on it, which we can play against each other in a number of different games. The windows are operated by a button that actually dims the windows to 5 different settings, from blue toned to completely dark. The window features got Luke quite excited as he had read about them previously. He enjoyed playing with the settings to find just the right one for our comfort. We were fed dinner and breakfast.

But all things considered we are very relaxed and already enjoying our overtired yet excited selves. Hethrow is a crazy airport, quite large and works very different, we made it to our connection for Dublin in time but there wasn't much to spare. They also love taking pictures of us. At customs, and again before boarding the airplane. We already decided that we have to save our British accents for the hotel room, as it was difficult to not speak with them as we were at the airport briefly. 

So FUN FACT!! We get to the car rental and Luke hands them his license and because he isn't 23 he can't rent the car. Although he has had his license for 6 years he also has to be 23... Apparently... SO I HAVE BEEN DRIVING IN DUBLIN! Plus we are in a Jetta because that was the only automatic transmission vehicle they had left. Now, lets put this into perspective a little bit. I am driving on the right hand side of the car, the left hand side of the road. It is bizarre! Not only that but they park half on the street and half on the side walks here. We were at an intersection that had a red light and then a green arrow pointing straight, this as we learned means you GO... Flashing yellow arrows mean yield, and lines on the road don't seem to mater one bit.             

     

 

 

When we arrived and got the car situation figured out, we decided to head in the direction of our hotel and stop at Kilmainham Gaol Museum. Which is a jail that was built in 1800's. We got there and the guy at their front greeting us that worked there had been given 2 free vouchers for the tour that was starting in 7 minutes. So we didn't have to pay to go on the museum tour which was awesome! It is a very crazy structure that a lot of people were crammed into, including women and children for crimes such as even stealing a loaf of bread (a 14 day sentence). Was a super interesting tour. 

                                      

Now we have gotten to the hotel and are trying to figure out what to eat for dinner, then a more relaxing evening tonight as our hotel is in more of an indutrial area and in the outskirts of Dublin. So far we are doing good with adjusting to time zone just have to make it a few more hours.

And so the adventure continues...

Itinerary

We will be on the move! Our tentative  schedule is:

April 29: Land in Dublin
April 30: Doolin, Ireland

May 1: Londonderry, Northern Ireland
May 2: Belfast, Northern Irelans
May 3: Dublin
May 4-9: London, England
May 9-11: San Sebastian, Spain
May 11-13: Pamplona, Spain
May 13-17: Madrid, Spain
May 17-20: Valencia, Spain
May 20-25: Barcelona, Spain
May 25-29: Nice, France
May 29 - June 2: Paris, France

June 2-5: Brussels, Belgium
June 5-12: Travelling with Mom & Dad in Netherlands!
June 12-15: Berlin, Germany
June 15-18: Krakow, Poland
June 18-22: Prague, Czech Republic
June 22-24: Vienna, Austria
June 24-25: Salzburg, Austria
June 25-28: Munich, Germany
June 28 - July 1: Lucerne, Switzerland

July 1-3: Interlaken, Switzerland
July 3-6: Milan, Italy
July 6-8: Verona, Italy
July 8-12: Venice, Italy
July 12-17: Rio maggiore, Italy
July 17-19: Florence, Italy
July 19-22: Rome, Italy
July 22-24: Naples, Italy
July 24-28: Sorrento, Italy
July 28 - August 1: Crete, Greece

August 1-4: Santorini, Greece
August 4-6: Ios, Greece
August 6-8: Paros, Greece
August 8-9: Athens, Greece
August 10: Back to Canada we go!

We are flexible with our schedule but this is the general plan with a few additional stops along the way :)

An Adventure Waiting to happen

Well this is actually happening, flights are being booked, itinerary is planned, and the packing has begun. For years we have both individually and together thought of what this adventure would look like, and now the time has come for us to actually start to pack and prepare to leave for three and a half months, and there is no way to really prepare for a trip like this. Although we will greatly miss our family and friends, this is really a dream come true. There is still much to be done at home; wrapping up school and finishing work and taking off. An adventure thought about and anticipated for many years; you just go and do, and so we shall. Only 18 more days and this adventure becomes a reality! So the real countdown begins...